Last night was the fourth and final sold out Mpls MadWomen event of the year. Periscope did a phenomenal job as the agency host of Just do you: Finding Success In Your Strengths.

We've all been there. We've been told who we are, what we need to be and how to change. Be more assertive, less emotional. More masculine, less feminine. But what if we took control. Used tools to help discover our strengths, acknowledged our weaknesses and created a personal user manual for ourselves? How would that impact our development, the team we work with and, ultimately, the environment we work in? Let this be the start in discovering ways to own and optimize our individual strengths, as well as successfully work with others who have strengths different than our own.

Sara Kosiorek kicked things off as the MC for the night. As Director of Operations at Periscope, Sara manages individual talent and how that talent comes together. She found success by creating something awesome for people to participate in and recognizing weâ€™re not all interchangeable.

It's not about finding the best individuals; it's about building the best team.

Why strengths?

Talents, skills, and strengths make us unique as individuals and valuable assets to a team. Your strengths, the struggles you have and wherever you happen to be, make a tangible difference to the organization you support. Let's face it, we all can't be good at everything. It's important to develop your strengths and manage your weaknesses. How much time you spend nurturing those weaknesses is up to you.

Determine your Type

If you don’t know your strengths, or need help defining them, The Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0 strengths list and Myers-Briggs personality types are both good places to start. The StrengthsFinder provides a list of talents and helps determine your natural thought patterns and behavior that help you reach your goals. Are you an achiever, a learner, a woo? Myers-Briggs will help you assess your personality and how you communicate those strengths. Are you an introvert or extrovert? How do you use sense, intuition, thinking, feeling, judgment and perception? When you better understand yourself, you better understand what you bring to the team and what you don’t.

Breakout Session: 3-steps to get to know your strengths and work with your limitations

Step 1. STRENGTHS

Take 5 minutes to write down a few things you're good at. Don't think too hard. Just write. (Ex: I'm good at listening to friends and coworkers, skiing, cooking, Google Forms, portfolio, reviews with junior designers, big-picture thinking, etc.)

Okay, stop! 5 minutes are up!

Circle the things that help you do your jobThink about why it helps you

Step 2. WEAKNESSES

Take 3 minutes to write down a few things you aren't so good at — this is a judgment free zone. (Ex: I'm not so great at prioritization, giving presentations, house painting, meeting agendas, etc.)

Alright, alright, that's enough…

Think about your current role and where these weaknesses come into playCircle what you could have someone else take-on, outsource or swap

Step 3. TEAMS

Take a moment to think about an awesome team you were on. List the individuals by initial and the qualities each brought/bring to the team.

Reflect on the list you created.

A couple of questions to consider while you reflect:Why was the team successful?What is your current team missing?

What Now?

Using tools like StrengthsFinder, the Myers-Briggs personality assessment and the Just Do You exercise help us see ourselves in ways we never did before. We can determine, yes, I’m good at that. Or, okay, that’s where I need help.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. We can all relate.

Being aware of who you are when trying to drive solutions is powerful. So, get comfortable talking about your strengths and weaknesses and share your findings with others. Do you have your eye on a job position? Are you a team builder? Do you hire talent? Or, are you evaluating personal goals? Make your own “User Manual” for work your style, an "about me" page, or add your strengths to your resume to help on your journey. Tell people this is what you need to know about working with me. Because having weaknesses doesnâ€™t make you an anomalyâ€”It makes you human.